Manipulative Attraction

29. ⚛️ Willing Actions

"Hawthorne, I don't think—" Jeannie began.

"She'll go," Carmen said, rising to stand next to Jeannie. The hacker surreptitiously pinched Jeannie's arm to make her see reason.

"Carmen!" Jeannie rubbed the sore spot, frowning at the Latina and wondering why she was so involved.

"One second, Hawthorne. Let me talk to Jeannie for a minute." Carmen snaked her arm around Jeannie's shoulders and propelled her into the living room, leaving Thorne to gaze after them.

They traveled to the farthest corner away from the door, settling where the sun's rays slanted through the blinds and made elongated stripes on their legs.

"Why're you turning away that fine piece of manhood?" Carmen said, her eyes running up and down Jeannie as if she were looking for defects.

Jeannie's eyes grew wide, and she cocked her head. Carmen was crazy. She knew Thorne was an enemy agent. How could they ever be together? Especially given the fact he'd slept with someone the same night he'd kicked her out of his apartment.

"Carmen, you know what Thorne is and what he is capable of," Jeannie said through clenched teeth. "I can't be with him."

She would be in a world of hurt if she did. After a night of tossing and turning, she made the choice to keep her distance. Thorne would never go to the Istochnik and she'd never go to The Source ... or would she? Jeannie shook off the thought and tried to convince herself more than Carmen why Hawthorne Gable was all sorts of wrong.

"Besides," Jeannie said, throwing her arms wide, "I told Demetri I'd help you with Shon. That will take up all the free— "

Carmen smoothly interrupted her misgivings with bravado. "Don't worry about that. I won't need your help with Shon." Carmen eyed her keenly. "Besides, that man is hot for you. What does it matter if he is the enemy? Just leave your feelings at the bedroom door and have some fun."

Jeannie hesitated. She already had a... great affection for Thorne. If they took things further, she'd fall all the way, and she'd be the one who ended up hurt.

Jeannie couldn't admit that to Carmen, so she seized on another excuse. "But Hawthorne brought someone to his apartment after I left. He doesn't want me."

Carmen scoffed. "Do you mean those two idiots he bosses around? They were the only company he'd had."

"You mean Quentin and Dalton? I thought..." Jeannie trailed off, ashamed she had judge Thorne so wrongly.

"What did you think? That he brought a girl to his apartment after you left?" Carmen face palmed herself in a show of disbelief. "How could you even think that? Don't you see how he looks at you?"

Jeannie's thoughts traveled back to when she'd had dinner with Thorne and his subordinates.

She wouldn't soon forget how his heated gazes had unnerved her to where she'd dropped her fork...her knife...and nearly bit through her spoon when he'd licked his lips, praising her applesauce cake.

If Jeannie gave in, Thorne had to be genuine. She was giving up a lot, not the least the safety of her father and herself. Double crossing Dimitri came at a price, and she'd gladly pay it if Thorne was for real.

But...could she trust him?

He'd thrown her out of his apartment for calling him Thorne. Proof he didn't care. She also wasn't in his inner circle. True, if he came clean and told her he was an agent, that would at least be a step in the right direction. The chances of that happening though were slim to none.

"What there is between us isn't real, Carmen. A trained agent like him doesn't just—"

Carmen swiveled her neck and tsk-ed between her teeth.

"Look, chica. You need to live it up while you're still young and beautiful." Carmen fluttered her lashes to prove her point. Jeannie let out a whispered laugh, then sobered at the gravity of the situation.

Thorne's last assignment...what happened afterward, bothered her. The woman had ended her life in front of a moving train after Thorne had left her.

Jeannie wouldn't do the unthinkable, but it would hurt when he moved on. Could she do as Carmen suggested and put her feelings aside so she could remain untouched?

"I can't just be friends with him, Carmen. If I start this, I'll fall, and it will end ugly." Jeannie shifted her gaze to a rough spot on the floor as tears pricked her eyes.

"Baby girl," Carmen said, giving Jeannie a tight hug, "experiences—good and bad—are what life is all about."

Jeannie lifted her head as confidence soared through her. She was an agent of the Istochnik, trained to control her feelings. She would do her best not to fall...further, and when it was over, she would walk away as easily as he would.

"You're right, Carmen. I've got this."

As Thorne waited in the kitchen, his thoughts turned morose. Jeannie didn't want to have anything to do with him. The way she'd reacted last night told him the truth. He'd treated her like a mark, and she'd had enough. He wanted to leave, but he stayed rooted to his seat to allow Jeannie to tell him off straight to his face.

He owed her that at least.

Jeannie came back into the kitchen, alone, looking at a point above his head. Thorne rubbed his palms on his jeans, his body tensing for the rejection that was his due.

Jeannie's gaze flickered to his, holding steady. "I won't be able to go."

Thorne's shoulders slumped in defeat, and his chest caved in with anguish. He made as if to rise, but her next words stopped him.

"I have a meeting and I'm not sure how long it will last." Jeannie trailed a finger against the back of a kitchen chair. "Can you come over for dinner afterward?"

Thorne, his heart thumping wildly with a newfound hope, watched her finger continue on its journey and double back again before he said, "Sure. I'd like that."